4 Easter John 10:1-10

I did an online e-mail text study of these verses and I would like to share them with you this week.



4 Easter John 10: 7-10

I have included many different translations in our study to get a different flavor for the text. If we were all Greek scholars, we could all make our own individual translation of the Greek, but since my Greek is really rusty, I thought this the better way to go!

Raymond Brown Translation

The Explanations a. the gate

7. Jesus said [to them again]; ""Truly I assure you, I am the sheep gate.

8. All who come [ before me] are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not heed them.

9. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved; and he will go in and out and find pasture.

10. A thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it to the fullest.
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RSV Translation

7* So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8* All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them.
9* I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10* The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

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The New Revised Standard Version             

10:7 So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
10:8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.

10:9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
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Now in the explanation, Jesus makes it very clear that He is the gate, the sheep gate.

So the sheepfold is what? Those who believe??

verse 7 So Jesus said [to them again]; "Truly I assure you I am the sheep gate. .

Is Jesus saying here that through Him alone people find access to God???

Adam Clarke's Commentary says:

Verse 7. I am the door of the sheep.] It is through me only that a man can have a lawful entrance into the ministry; and it is through me alone that mankind can be saved.

Wesley says:

7. I am the door-Christ is both the Door and the Shepherd, and all things.

So I guess we can conclude that Jesus says in the explanation of the parable that appears in the first 6 verses, says that he is both the door, the gate, and the shepherd.

v 8-9 Jesus speaks about all who came before him, probably referring to the scribes and Pharisees and not the leaders found in the Old Testament, the prophets, the Judges, etc.

Clark says:

But our Lord probably refers to the scribes and Pharisees, who pretended to show the way of salvation to the people-who in fact stole into the fold, and clothed themselves with the fleece, and devoured the sheep.

Verse 9b and he will go in and out and find pasture. (Brown)
and will come in and go out and find pasture (The New Revised Standard Version )

So what does it mean that people will go into the sheep fold and come out of the sheep fold through Jesus to find pasture?

Clark says:

Go in and out] This phrase, in the style of the Hebrews, points out all the actions of a man's life, and the liberty he has of acting, or not acting. A good shepherd conducts his flock to the fields where good pasturage is to be found; watches over them while there, and brings them back again and secures them in the fold. So he that is taught and called of God feeds the flock of Christ with those truths of his word of grace which nourish them unto eternal life; and God blesses together both the shepherd and the sheep, so that going out and coming in they find pasture: every occurrence is made useful to them; and all things work together for their good.

and shall go in and out; in allusion to the sheep going in and out of the fold: not that those who come in at the right door, shall go out of the church, or from among the saints again; but this phrase rather denotes the exercises of faith in going unto Christ, and acting upon him, and in coming forth in the outward confession of him, and the performance of good works; or in going unto him, and dealing with his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, and coming out of themselves, and all dependence on their own righteousness; or it may regard the conversation of the saints in the church, their attendance on ordinances, their safety there, their free and open communion one with another, and with Christ, in whose name and strength they do all they do, coming in and out at this door:

Or Brown says: Because Jesus speaks about living water, the bread of life, and now he is speaking about the pasture of life, the fullness of life. Through Jesus he will give us the fullness of life.

So what do you think the pasture is and the going out and the coming in?